Georgia looks to export to the UK

If you don’t fancy a glass of Chilean Chardonnay this evening, then how about sitting down with some Georgian Rkatsiteli or a Napareuli? Unfamiliar as they sound, these grape varieties could soon be regulars on our wine shelves as Georgia sets its sights on bringing its wines to the UK.

The Prime Minister, Zurab Nogaideli, was here promoting them last week in a bid to find new markets after a political move by Russia to ban the importation of its wine. And with its wide range of indigenous grape varieties – about a quarter of the 2,000 species worldwide belong to Georgia, according to the Prime Minister – we could soon have quite a few new wines to choose from.